AØKK08456U Seminar: Environmental Cost-benefit Analysis (F)

Volume 2026/2027
Education

MSc programme in Economics

The seminar is primarily for students at the MSc of Economics.

The course is a part of the financial line, signified by (F)

Content

How should decision-makers (e.g., governments or financial investors) decide between potential projects and policies? Answering this poses many challenges, not least for many environmental projects and policies. Such projects and policies may have effects on goods and services that are not traded in the market, adverse distributional effects, and inherent risks and uncertainties. Parallel to this are the challenges of financing sustainable growth.

This course introduces students to the general method and use of cost-benefit analysis. There will be particular emphasis on applications to resource and environmental economics. The course therefore deals with many crucial aspects of environmental cost-benefit analysis.

The goal to equip students with the necessary background to assess the validity of practical environmental cost-benefit analyses, as well as to formulate how current guidelines can be improved based on the latest economic research.

The course will consist of a lecture block that provides an overview and introduces students to key concepts.

Examples of topics students may work on:

  • Revealed preferences methods for valuing non-market goods
  • Contingent valuation method for valuing non-market goods
  • Value or benefit transfer
  • Distributional issues in cost-benefit analysis
  • Discounting approaches and reasonable values
  • Discounting and inequality
  • Discounting under uncertainty
  • Discounting of scarce non-market goods
  • Applications to climate change
  • Other applications
Learning Outcome

After completing the seminar the student is expected to be able to fulfill the learning outcome specified in the  Master curriculum and to be able to:

 

Knowledge:

  • Account for, define and scientifically reflect on key concepts of environmental cost-benefit analysis.
  • Identify, theorize, discuss and criticize central contributions to environmental cost-benefit analysis.
  • Obtain a handle to further explore the scientific literature and guidelines on environmental cost-benefit analysis.

 

Skills:

  • Master the methods and tools of environmental cost-benefit analysis.
  • Structure and analyze the methods of environmental cost-benefit analysis, and to assess and choose scientific theories, methods and tools in particular applications of environmental cost-benefit analysis.
  • Argue, debate, communicate and present the problems with environmental cost-benefit analysis in a scientific and professional manner.

 

Competencies:

  • Manage, plan, carry through and implement an environmental cost-benefit analysis.
  • Independently be able to make use of the course content in own academic work. 

Be responsible for the students own further learning/ specialization in environmental cost-benefit analysis

Key literature:

  • Atkinson, G., & Mourato, S. (2008). Environmental Cost-benefit Analysis.Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 33, 317-344.
  • Boardman, A. E., Greenberg, D. H., Vining, A. R., & Weimer, D. L. (2017). Cost-benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice. Cambridge University Press. (Tentatively on the list of key literature)  
  • OECD (2018), Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Environment: Further Developments and Policy Use. OECD Publishing.

 

Additional literature is posted in Absalon.

Formal requirements: BSc in Economics or similar
There are no recommended academic qualifications other than the requirements to the study program in Economics.

The seminar assumes that students have a knowledge of the basic principles of environmental cost-benefit analysis corresponding to the course "Economics of the Environment and Climate Change" in the Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen.
Students receive individual guidance from the instructor.
Students prepare a draft assignment, which they present to the teacher and the other students. The students take turns acting as opponents during each other’s presentations. The feedback should especially focus on the written presentation in the draft assignment, with particular emphasis on the introduction.
Exact dates will be available in the seminar’s course room no later than 14 days before the start of the semester

• Kick-off meeting: Week 6 / 36. See exact date in Absalon.

• Additional meetings/introductory teaching/guidance: Optional. See Absalon.

• Deadline for submission of commitment paper/project description:
No later than February 28 / September 30.

• Deadline for uploading seminar paper draft in Absalon: No later than one week before the presentations. See exact date in Absalon.

• Presentations: In the period November 20 – December 11 for the autumn semester and May 1 – 23 for the spring semester.
See exact dates in Absalon.

• Common submission date for all seminars: December 20 at 10:00 for the autumn semester and June 1 at 10:00 for the spring semester.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Project work
  • 186
  • Seminar
  • 20
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Individual
Collective
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Home assignment
Type of assessment details
Individual or in groups of up to 3.
A seminar paper of 15 standard pages for one person, 22.5 standard pages for 2 and 30 standard pages for 3 students.
See further exam information in the Masters Programme Curriculum.
Examination prerequisites

Attendance in all seminar activities as stated in the Master curriculum.

Reexam: Hand in and have approved a synopsis.

Aid
All aids allowed

Use of AI tools is permitted. You must explain how you have used the tools. When text is solely or mainly generated by an AI tool, the tool used must be quoted as a source.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period

The seminar paper must be uploaded in Digital Exam.

Common submission date for all seminars: December 20 at 10:00 for the autumn semester and June 1 at 10:00 for the spring semester.

For enrolled students more information about examination, rules, aids etc. is available at the intranet for  Master (UK) and  Master (DK ).

Re-exam

Individual seminar paper of 15 standard pages. See further exam information in the Masters Programme Curriculum.

Deadline and more information is available at  MSc in Economics - KUnet

More information about reexam etc is available at  Master(UK) and  Master(DK).

Criteria for exam assesment

Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the seminar and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes in the  Curriculum of the Master programme.